Who is Influencing You?

 This past Monday, we looked at Galatians 2:11-14. I wrote about how sometimes we aren't really helping people with our instruction. We are hurting them. You can read about that here. But there's something else I want to talk about from these verses. 

When I looked at the passage again, I noticed something in verse twelve. It was only when...

"certain men came from James, he (Cephas) began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group."

Until that time, before the "certain men" came to see what the church in Galatia was doing, Peter (Cephas) was living among the Christian believers and fully reveling in their freedom found in Christ. It was not until Peter's past came to check on his future that Peter started doubting in his freedom. When Peter was ministering to the Galatian Christians, he was content to teach the basic tenets of the Christian faith. Love God, love people like Jesus. Show others how to do the same. Living together in community with any and all that professed their love for Jesus as well. Peter was being the rock. The very foundation for the entire church to be built upon. Things were going well. But then... those "certain men" came to town. They had all of these rules! Which I am sure they thought were necessary. Because they had been. But they no longer held any power to serve in the Christian life. This new way they now professed to believe. 

I do the same thing! I am living life. I'm making sure my ducks are in a row. Maybe I've let go of some old habits that aren't working so well. Perhaps I've even found some new friends that are helping me achieve goals. They only know the new me. Not the old one. I'm surrounded by good people in a good place. All the baggage of the past has been left at the foot of the cross. Then, some friends or even family that have known me longer. Who worked with me or did some life with me in the past come. They see the changes. They questions the new habits. Suddenly, I'm not sure that I'm making the right choices. Maybe it would be better to go back to how things were? At least that was familiar. 

Is putting on the old clothes in my new body really comfortable? They seem a little tight around the waistband. The pants aren't quite long enough. Those shoes are definitely going to start to hurt after awhile. When I merge my old ways with my new ones, it's like oil and water. None of my new friends even understands what's going on. But they shrug because maybe I'm happy walking this tightrope? 

No! I'm not happy, I'm not content to live in the old ways! Hopefully I have a friend like Paul who will call me out on this hypocrisy! Someone brave enough who will say, you have been set free from all of that. Why do you try and please that which no longer has a right to influence your life? 

I ask again, who is influencing your life? The past you've been set free from? Or the present freedom you are walking in?